Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1512793
D A V I D A S C O T T R E M E M B E R S 2013 as if it were yesterday. It was the year her first student was murdered, and the year her first student was charged with murder. A youth employment specialist at the time, she recalls crying in her office, wondering what she could have done to save her students from gun and gang violence, and drugs. She continued to lose more in the following years as she became an educator at Hayward Adult School. She came to realize that while she could not save her students, she could help build a pathway for them to achieve their goals — learn- ing life and professional skills, getting a job, finding a career, making the most of opportunities and living productive lives. Scott works with children and youth who fall through the cracks and are mostly forgotten — kids on probation or in juvenile custody, kids in foster care, teen moms, homeless and at-promise kids, students expelled from traditional schools. She has spent her career as a teacher on special assignment at her school, and true to her commitment to build a pathway for her students, Scott created Raising Lead- ers — Workshops & Internships in 2018. It's been a challenging journey, but the program's suc- cess has led to Scott winning a 2024 NEA Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence. She credits Hayward Edu- cation Association with supporting her efforts. "My union paved the way for me to build Raising Leaders even when I faced pushback from previous leadership at Hayward Adult School," she says, adding that while administrators are now very supportive, it was difficult to convince them earlier that the program could be sustainable. "I would not be where I am now without [the union]." "I Never Gave Up" Davida Scott receives 2024 NEA Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence Scott, far left, with students who are interning at 18 Hayward Unified elementary schools as part of Raising Leaders' Youth Enrichment Program (at right: program coordinator Rina Serrano). Davida Scott 14 cta.org Spotlight